The Shadow Passenger
by wastedsky
Summary: Danny Fenton saved the world, got the girl, and is now the most popular boy in the world. With his alter-ego known after the Disasteroid incident, Danny Fenton is desperately searching for some kind of normalcy to return to his life. But when strange things start happening in his town of Amity Park, it would seem like nothing good in Danny's life will last. More summary inside!
1. Prologue: In the Stars

Summary: A lot has happened since Daniel Fenton, also known as Danny Phantom, saved the world from the mother of all asteroids. Vlad Masters, his old arch nemesis, has decided to turn over a leaf and become allies with the boy, banding the only two half ghosts in existence and taking a lot off the boy's plate. Sam Manson and he are finally together, after professing (finally) that they felt something bigger between them than just friendship. Tucker Foley has stepped up as the mayor of Amity Park, casting out the GIW and helping to deal with the media hysteria that is being fired towards the Fentons. It would seem that things have finally settled down for the young ghost boy, his life taking a dramatic turn, but for the better. But as the trio well knows, nothing that's good in Danny Fenton's life lasts forever. An evil more ancient than Pariah Dark has risen from the deepest shadows of the Ghost Zone and developed a special obsession with the only two half-ghosts in existence. And what better time to make an appearance than when Daniel Fenton has to prove to everyone that he is still the same person? Hell bent on making the two half ghosts hated for what they are by a public that has accepted who they are, the 'passenger' is desperate... until he develops a plan that could not only ruin the reputations of the ghosts and of those around them, but could viciously take them out once and for all as well.

Hey—it's wastedsky here and I just wanted to give you guys little tidbits to remember before you scroll below and read my prologue. I know I have the story labeled as containing both Danny F. and Vlad M., even though the story is listed as post PP. This is where the AU comes into play, as in this story, Vlad Masters never went up into space as a means of being rewarded with infinite power over earth. This is important, because Vlad M. is an important part of this story!

* * *

**Prologue**

**In the Stars**

* * *

Since the earth was brought into existence through a big bang, it would be only natural that the earth would see its last days in the same dramatic fashion.

Only hours beforehand, the people of earth were convinced that their world was coming to an end. An asteroid made up of ectoranium was hit by a satellite that was unfortunately knocked off its course, causing the hulking piece of mutated rock to change its paths and set its impact site on planet earth.

No one knew how such a well-programmed satellite could get thrown so far off course like that, but that piece of the puzzle was deemed unimportant in the grand scheme of things. The only thing the people of earth were focused on was _surviving_. And unfortunately, that seemed unlikely. Their destruction was inevitable. This was the end for them…

Until Danny Phantom came into the picture.

Most of Amity Park was especially confused—the hero hadn't been seen for weeks, having stopped helping/pestering the citizens as quickly as he appeared two years beforehand.

When Mayor Masters arranged a town meeting and invited Danny Phantom to the podium, it was a testament to how desperate humankind was when they not only allowed him to speak, but stayed perfectly quiet. As the boy talked, the people of Amity Park, along with every country that received the news, marveled at how young the boy was. He must have died when he was young; yet that didn't stop him from coming up with an ingenious, well-thought out idea.

Demonstrating his ability to turn corporeal objects intangible, he proposed that if he gathered all the ghosts from the Ghost Zone and convinced them to put aside their malcontent towards him and humans alike, that their altogether power could make the earth intangible for as much time as they needed for the asteroid to pass harmlessly through.

Vlad Masters (surprisingly) applauded the plan. After all, it was actually his fault—along with Phantom's as well—that the satellite went off course in the first place. And though he relished how much Jack Fenton and his son were sweating, he himself didn't want to perish this way. So he convinced the people to follow 'Phantom's' lead… to put their unwavering trust in his abilities.

The stars seemed to have supported this decision, as everyone knows what happened as a result of Phantom's assistance.

Chords wrapped around the earth and attached to a giant tower in the Antarctic, standing tall in the ice and snow for every ghost in the Ghost Zone to hold onto for dear life.

And even after all the drama Danny's reaching out to the Ghost Zone caused, having put aside their enemy relationships with the ghost boy, the ghosts closed their eyes; and pushing their cores to the limit, they turned the tower intangible in the nick of time.

The total amount of intangible energy that poured into that singular tower was enough to spread through the chords and successfully turn planet earth completely see-through, causing the asteroid to pass harmlessly through its cores and continue moving onward in the empty void that was left.

They were saved. And it was all thanks to the ghost boy.

* * *

Danny Fenton would never forget what happened afterward. Burnt out from all the energy he expended to help the other ghosts help save the earth, the boy practically crash-landed in front of his parents without meaning to.

Right away, Danny expected to be staring down the barrel of an especially large ghost hunting weapon, as this was technically the end of their 'temporary truce'… but when he looked up, he was met with a pair of smiles so big, they split the wearers' faces!

"You did it!" his mother cried, clapping her hands together like an amused child. "The world is saved! You did it! Oh… we're _so_ proud of you!"

"I… It was nothing, citizen," Danny boomed, using what Sam nicknamed his 'hero' voice. It had helped him in the past when dealing with his parents. This time was different, however.

His nerves already on edge, the still-ghost Danny jumped a few feet in the air when a voice appeared right next to his ear, taking the form of his older sister.

"You can stop with the antics, little brother… They know."

It was like his heart plummeted into his stomach. They knew his secret. They finally knew that the Danny Phantom they were hunting all those years was in fact their son, Daniel Fenton, and they weren't donning their guns or proclaiming his denouncement!

Was it… was it true that they were accepting him so effortlessly? Could it be that his ghost hating parents were okay with the fact that their son saved the earth and battled foes with the usage of _ghost powers_?

Gaining reassurance from their unwavering smiles, Danny saw that it was okay… and Danny Fenton couldn't be happier. And not wasting a minute, Jack and Maddie collected him and his sister up into a bone-breaking hug, holding them for a very long time.

Danny Fenton could finally relax. He could finally live both his lives without having to keep them to himself; he no longer had to hide behind thousands of lies in order to do what he knew was his passion!

A new wave of confidence washed over him like a calming wave, and that's when Danny decided it was time to surprise his parents. Breaking away from their hold to confirm what they already knew, Danny Phantom, with white hair and radioactively green eyes, turned into their beloved son.

Able to control his transformation, the boy allowed the white rings to separate from each other a little slower so that he could give his parents time to take what they were witnessing in. And by the looks of shared delight on their faces, Danny knew he didn't disappoint.

Danny Fenton smiled once his transformation rings were severed, holding his arms out in the universal sign of acceptance… But it was only once the teenager realized how quiet it was that Danny looked at the people standing around him, having been summoned by the bright light of his change.

Their faces stared at him in awe, like they were taking in the sight of a fallen angel.

To the people of Amity Park, who knew Daniel Fenton personally and had never made the connection, it was like seeing the teenager for the first time. It was amazing how unremarkable the boy had been, and yet looking at Danny now, they were surprised at how oblivious they were to the evident similarities between his two forms.

Nervous, Danny rubbed the back of his neck, his signature anxious tick. He was about to open his mouth and say something cheeky, anything to break the obvious tension that filled the air, when he noticed the throng of people surrounding him was parting to let someone through…

"_Gulliver's Travels_, boy!" Mr. Lancer exclaimed in his usual manner, replacing otherwise curse words with classic novels.

Danny Fenton cringed at the tone of his English teacher's exclamation, and probably sensing his tension, his sister stepped in front of her brother and stared at the balding man with a look that could have melted the snow they tread on.

Though the English teacher halted in his approach, he still continued to stare openly at his student. Danny continued to massage the back of his neck to the point where his fingers were digging deeply into his skin, leaving ugly red marks in their place. But when he was suddenly greeted by the smell of Sam's perfume and the familiar beeping sound of Tucker's PDA, he realized that his best friends were backing him up too, which made him feel less apprehensive to respond.

Taking a deep breath, Danny spoke; and what came out was surely not what Mr. Lancer expected to hear: "Well… now you finally have your answer as to why I'm always late to your class, huh?"

Mr. Lancer brought his palm up to his mouth, still attempting to take everything in all at once, and yet Danny saw that the man was trying his hardest to hide the slowly evolving smile fighting to split his face apart.

Looking around, Danny saw that the whole crowd wore similar expressions. He even noticed that some were holding their phones in front of their faces, their eyes the size of dinner plates as they were undoubtedly streaming this live to all their friends, to the internet.

And the biggest surprise of all was how _little_ Danny Fenton cared. His secret was no longer a secret anymore, but was something that after all that had happened that he was ready to share. So long as his family and friends accepted him, no one else mattered.

So Danny gave the crowd (and the world) what they had been waiting for.

Clearing his throat and straightening his posture, the weak Daniel Fenton that bullies used to chase after school and girls used to openly snicker at straightened, saying, "I, Daniel Fenton, am Danny Phantom."

An uncomfortable silence continued for a beat before the whole crowd erupted into uproarious applause. They clapped their hands against his back, ruffled his hair, even kissed him; Mr. Lancer shook his hand and apologized "for being wrong about him."

Everywhere the boy looked, he found someone smiling at him and congratulating him on a job well done. Many people approached him and extended their hands to him, apologizing for ever doubting that Danny Phantom was anything but the good Daniel _Fenton_ had always hoped would come across through his heroic actions. For once, no one was glaring at him maliciously or aiming ghost weapons at him! Things were perfect… Everything was going to be okay.

It was many minutes later that Danny Fenton finally broke away from the large throng of people surrounding him, putting up his hands in a gesture of placation. Although the people had questions that remained unanswered, it was only natural that the young hero was tired.

And looking to go somewhere that was warm and do nothing for a couple of hours, Daniel trekked tiredly behind the rest of the people towards the lodgings they were being provided, nothing except for sleep and leftover elation on his mind…

"Wait up, _boyfriend_," Sam teased; and upon catching up to her new boyfriend, Sam Manson wrapped her arms around his middle, joined shortly after by Danny's own reassuring arms.

The teen laughed energetically, although the bags appearing under his eyes showed how tired he was.

"I would never dream of leaving you, _girlfriend_."

Sam blushed, and quick so as not to catch their friends' and Danny's parents' attention, she planted a quick peck on the boys lips.

The two lovebirds gave each other intimate looks before the two of them looked back to see the rest of their friends and family walking at a slow pace towards them.

"Come on, you guys!" Danny called good-naturedly, smirking. "We don't have all the time in the world, you know!"

All of them laughed at the joke Danny made, and finally catching up to the couple standing at the doorway to their lodging, they were all about to file in one by one before a slim figured man appeared seemingly out of nowhere in front of them.

Dressed in all black with the exception of his hair, Vlad Masters looked down at Danny with a mischievous look shining in his eyes.

"Not so fast, little badger. I believe we have something to talk about."

* * *

Ooh… what do you think is going on? 'Mr. Mayor' has appeared and wants to talk with the most popular boy in the world… This will be interesting.

Note: I know this is an unusual ending to a prologue, but I felt it necessary to set up the extensive plot I have going here. I'm well aware that the dialogue and happenings listed above are somewhat distorted from the actual episode of Phantom Planet; this is merely my interpretation, and I do hope that you liked what is a lengthy and informative beginning to this story.

Make sure to tell me what you think below! I'll talk to you soon! Xoxo –_wastedsky_


	2. Chapter 1: A New Beginning

All I can say is whoops, the holidays happened and I actually thought I would get stuff done while I'm in a house full of crazy people.

Sorry about the long wait, but thank you to those who followed and favorited, as well as reviewed. You know who you are!

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

**Chapter One**

**A New Beginning**

* * *

Ice and snow rained down upon the thirty or so citizens of Amity Park, watching from hundreds of feet below as ghosts of every size, color, and shape prevented the world from ending.

To say that people were shocked was an understatement, and yet they spent their subsequent moments celebrating the good news of being able to see another sunrise. People hugged, kissed, and patted the revealed Daniel Phantom on the back, thanking him for his oh-so precious deed and, as it should be, regretting their doubts about him.

As every good story goes, the protagonist earned peace of mind while his fellow man applauded his heroism. The obliteration of the Disasteroid, it seemed, was the only thing the world needed in order to feel like it was whole again.

And yet there was still one person who hid from view, whose world still continued to crumble even after balance was restored to the earth.

No story is complete without a villain, and while Daniel Fenton celebrated his new beginning, the current antagonist watched invisibly from afar, unhappy.

Vlad Masters felt no differently as he watched the only other being like him get everything the man ever wanted. It was an ugly feeling, one that hardened his insides to feel like the mountains of snow that surrounded them, partly out of anger and partly out of disappointment.

The man wasn't unfamiliar to feeling this way, although he had to admit that the circumstances were much different.

Seeing that Daniel revealed his secret identity to the world was confusing. For the two years that Vlad dealt with the ghost child, he knew Daniel was apprehensive when it came to sharing what happened in the ghost portal the day he became half ghost. He was concerned with how his loved ones would react, especially his ghost hating parents, and Vlad Masters understood why.

Mainly because there was more to the billionaire than his fortune or his bachelor status.

Unbeknownst to anyone but a handful of people, there was more to the man's devilish nature than met the eye, as Daniel Fenton was not the sole being on earth to possess ghost powers.

In reality, Daniel was the _second_ half-ghost his idiot father, Jack Fenton, created.

Calling twin black rings forth at his waist and letting them separate in different directions horizontally, Vlad Masters turned into his ghost half, Vlad Plasmius. While in the real world, the man struck fear in the hearts of men, that was nothing in comparison to the respectful fear his minions felt in the other world.

No one ever crossed him, fearful of what he would do; however, there was one person in the world who was bold enough to deny him, and that was the very boy the world was hailing as a savior.

Vlad frowned in the direction of his "little badger." The teen was the happiest he had ever seen him; and while in terms of Daniel's self-esteem this was a move in the right direction, this did not bode well for the man's business interests.

And said business interests involved a lot more than his companies.

By letting the world's population know about the existence of half ghosts, Daniel inadvertently kept his enemy from carrying out his agenda.

Vlad's brow furrowed as his frown deepened in thought. Since his accident with the proto-portal in his college days, the billionaire had been hell bent at getting back at Jack Fenton for his careless mistake. Inspecting the proto-portal close up, Jack had fired up the device, confident that it would work; the then college student failed to move away from the mechanism quick enough, resulting in his face being covered entirely with radioactive ectoplasm. Waking up and seeing the grotesque boils that marred his features, the man bolted out of the lab in embarrassment. The subsequent months were spent in a quarantined hospital room, where the doctors and nurses looked over him as if he were a lab experiment while they searched desperately for a diagnosis for his terrible condition. And during all that time, where he was on his death bed all alone, there was not a single time where his friend came to see if he was alright.

And though Vlad eventually healed from the ordeal, his body working to dissolve what they called his 'ecto-acne', the man never forgot how his ex-best friend never apologized for the damage he caused.

The injustice of the matter was not to be ignored, and after twenty years of gunning for Jack's worthless life, the man found himself hitting a brick wall in the form of the man's son ruining his chances, and it was all because of the stupid truce they made during Vlad's twentieth college reunion coming back to haunt him.

Vlad was still smarting over what happened. The billionaire, after learning that Jack Fenton's son was the other half ghost the Ghost Zone had been gossiping about, locked the boy in one of his spectral neutralizers to cancel out his powers and render him defenseless.

_Daniel was trapped inside Vlad's spectral neutralizer, nothing except for his head protruding from the device. Try as the teen might, he couldn't escape, and as a result his powers were temporarily blocked._

"_Let me go!" the teen demanded._

"_Why?" Vlad asked dangerously. "So you can go back to stumbling through your adolescence, desperately trying to control your powers? Powers, by the way, that I've had for over 20 years. I have experience, my child. And the money and power from using my abilities for personal gain, you see. I could train you, teach you everything I know, and all you'd have to do is renounce your idiot father."_

_At this, Daniel scoffed, arching his eyebrows challengingly. "__Dude, you are one seriously crazed-up fruit loop. That is never going to happen."_

_Vlad shrugged dismissively. It didn't matter what the child thought or how much he resisted. If his father was taken out of existence, the boy was going to have to rethink his statement._

"_Yes, well once your father is out of the way, we'll see how you feel."_

The child's face as he exited the room with the intent to nail his father was priceless. He really thought that his time had finally come to make Jack Fenton pay once and for all…

If only his infernal resident ghost, the Dairy King, hadn't come along and helped the boy.

That was when Daniel flew in and proposed their truce: if Vlad were to expose Daniel as Danny Phantom to his family then Daniel would do the same to Vlad. And as the boy rightly put it, his parents would accept their children no matter what… yet what would Madeline think of him if she discovered that her old college friend was a sociopathic ghost villain with a vendetta against two of the men in her life?

That was one of his more embarrassing defeats, and now it was coming back to bite him.

Vlad spat angrily at the ground. How was he going to carry out his plans when Daniel had nothing to lose and everything to gain now that the world knew of his existence?

Red fire ignited in his hands and spread up the length of his forearm in fury. Vlad didn't take to being defeated well, but the prospect of not getting what he wanted was far less complex than what he felt now that he survived Armageddon.

Invisible, Vlad stared intently at the Fenton family. Daniel's two friends were standing nearby, Samantha holding her new boyfriend's hand while Tucker playfully ruffled at the teen's hair. Daniel waved the other teen off, but smiled with mirth at the action. And while the billionaire was interested by the sight, Vlad was more zeroed in on the boy's parents more than anyone else, particularly Jack Fenton.

Jack was too busy beaming at his youngest child to notice the scathing looks some town's people were aiming his way, as the larger man was blocking their path to get to his son. It was typical of the man to be oblivious… which is how the man managed to overlook Vlad's fake behavior all these years.

Unlike Daniel, with his hot-headedness and knee-jerk reactions, Vlad exercised a large amount of control around Jack Fenton.

The billionaire had always been good at thinking before acting, and it wasn't until recently that that streak began to slip ever so slightly…

This was where Vlad's disappointment came into play. However, it was not disappointment in Daniel because he chose a side and won, but disappointment in _himself_. And it was for two reasons:

One reason had to do with Daniel. The crowd of Amity Park citizens that surrounded Daniel couldn't get enough of him, sticking out their hands for him to shake and snapping photos of him for social media pages and personal blogs. Vlad was surprised that news crews hadn't arrived yet, as this was a defining moment in world history. For the first time in the boy's young life, people wanted to get to know him, not just Danny Phantom. Yet the man had always been interested in the boy's life, and that was why he craved for the teenager to join him, so that while Vlad taught him how to handle his powers, they could perfect their connection as the only two half ghosts in existence.

Now staring at Daniel, the man was struck with the realization that one of his goals was unattainable.

A harsh Antarctic wind passed through the crowd, and although Vlad Masters was unable to feel the cold exteriorly, his insides felt like they were freezing over as his second reason for being disappointed entered his mind.

In his constant quest to gain power, Vlad nearly gave everything up.

Before they knew the asteroid was made of ectoranium, and before Daniel stepped in and proposed his plan of action, the man was struck by a seemingly brilliant idea. While the world was crippled by its impending end, Vlad had the opportunity to take advantage of the people of Amity Park – and what better way to do so than by abusing his abilities.

The man salivated at the thought of unlimited power. Imagining the incredulity on the townspeople's faces when they discovered their mayor was a ghost would be perfect! Countries would bow down to him in order for them to save the world. He would be named as supreme ruler! The plan sounded perfect…

And then Vlad Masters came to and realized what he would be sacrificing. All that he worked for would crumble away to nothing if he exposed who he was, especially since they knew nothing about the incoming asteroid at the time!

It horrified him at how quickly he was willing to throw his hard work away for power. But because there were more important things to deal with at the time, the man did what he did best and compartmentalized the feeling.

Now the feeling came to the surface, and as he stared off into the distance at the quickly dispersing throng of people, it nagged at him.

Power was always the ideal goal; it was what would enable Vlad to kill Jack and acquire Madeline and her son; it was what kept his companies running; it was how people were going to remember him. The billionaire had always set his sights high – with otherworldly abilities, it was easy to do so, and the man loved the thrill of taking what he wanted and having no one stop him. But that was precisely the problem: though there was no one to stop him from reaching his evil goals, there was also no one that could keep him from reaching too far!

Since learning how to use his ghostly abilities, the man kept himself in control. As long as his identity was not compromised, the man didn't have much to worry about. He always planned ahead and anticipated accordingly, as a master strategist should. And the problem lately was that the man didn't know when to hold back.

Vlad Masters hadn't exposed himself in front of hundreds of Amity Park citizens and ruined his reputation. But it was the fact that it had been close to happening that bothered him.

He had been standing at the foot of a large precipice and was about to take one step too far. It did not more than bother him… It scared him, and even more so, it confused him.

When did Vlad Plasmius become this way? How long had he been operating with the line between acceptable and too much blurred? And furthermore, what did he do about it?

He would not compromise his plans simply because he was becoming a little more obsessive than he already was. The man was on the cusp of something great. Jack Fenton, now that he was distracted by his son's 'coming-out' would be easier to hit.

Maybe this time, this plan, was going to be the one.

It always gave him adrenaline to think of his upcoming schemes, but looking at the close knit Fentons altogether, his destructive habits didn't have their normal zeal.

He tried to shake the feeling off. Vlad was going to make himself worry over nothing if he dwelled on what could have been.

But things felt heavier this time around. This wasn't just one of his many failed plans, but this was his life, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he was starting to lose his grip on reality, where normal life began and his villainous escapades ended.

The war he waged against Daniel was going to be different this time, as it wasn't just Danny and his little friends all alone, but it was the entirety of the world that stood behind the teen.

It was going to be a billion to one, and he was going to have to fight harder than ever to take back what should have been his.

And the thought made Vlad very tired.

Dropping his eyes to the frozen ground, Vlad admitted to himself that he was tired of fighting a losing battle.

Jack took the family that was supposed to be his away from him and Vlad had vowed that he wouldn't rest until the man felt the same pain he suffered.

But where was it getting him? Vlad liked to think that he was an intelligent man, and part of that intelligence was knowing when it was time to stop his suffering. And that was precisely what was happening here; because Vlad wasn't _living his life_.

Vlad ran shaky hands through his frozen hair. He always pictured himself not going down without a fight, and here he was doing what no one else, including himself, expected him to do.

The man was never going to change who he was. Vlad Masters was always going to be the villain, letting his demons run free. But he couldn't risk losing his sanity.

His heart raced with the prospect of shutting down the hunt for Jack Fenton. Perhaps he wasn't preserving his sanity, but was losing it. Daniel certainly seemed to think so.

A mirthless chuckle bubbled up to the surface upon imagining what Daniel's face would look like if he knew that Vlad was giving up. The teen was fond of calling him a fruit-loop, one out of many of the names he gave the older hybrid.

Daniel was a couple feet ahead of the man now, hand-in-hand with Ms. Manson, whilst he made idiotic puns with his tech friend.

The scene made the man's heart heavy, as dreams of having the boy as his own would never come to fruition.

_And I doubt he wants to be your friend either, _Vlad thought to himself dryly. _Of course, _he thought again_, that never stopped me from trying to force him before._

But that was precisely the problem. In forcing Daniel to renounce his loved ones in order to gain control over his ghost abilities, the man was making it hard for the boy to trust him. Attacking him directly and through the help of his minions didn't make the boy want to create a relationship with Vlad, but did the opposite. It made him hold on tighter to the people he already had.

_I doubt Daniel would try and make things work with me even if I got down on my knees and begged_, he thought darkly.

Daniel wouldn't be able to get past all the rotten things Vlad had done to him and his family.

Even though he was the forgiving type, he doubted the boy would hear him out.

Or would he?

He was unsure of how he felt about trying to make amends with Daniel. The billionaire bit his lip upon thinking of how many times he was going to have to apologize in order for the boy to even take him seriously, let alone hear him completely. It was bound to take away his dignity, as Daniel was a hard nut to crack, especially in his case.

But… there was no harm in trying – at least for now.

On deciding that he was going to have some sort of conversation with Daniel, Vlad took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and teleported.

The last thing on his mind before he disappeared in a bright pink cloud of smoke was that he hoped he didn't regret what he was about to do.

* * *

"Not so fast little badger… I believe we have something to talk about."

Danny shot his enemy what he intended to be a menacing glare, as he squeezed his girlfriend's hand tighter. He subconsciously stepped in front of his best friend, his body becoming rigged in the presence of one of the most loathsome men the teen had ever faced.

The man looked a lot like the Grim Reaper, as he was dressed mostly in black, save for Vlad Masters' abnormally bright white hair. And speaking of death, the fruit loop was looming over the trio as if he intended to snatch them up from where they stood.

Not having to hide his abilities, the teen reached for his core and produced a beam of white hot energy in his palm. He allowed it to spread up his arm and all the way up to his shoulder; even though the last thing he wanted to do was fight this fruit loop, Danny wanted to convey that he was not in the mood to play whatever twisted game Vlad was planning.

However, instead of the older half ghost reacting with malice towards Danny's behavior, Vlad simply arched an eyebrow in his direction.

The man looked far too amused for Danny's liking… along with something else. There was an emotion swimming in Plasmius' eyes that Danny couldn't read, and it subsequently made the ghost child gather more of his energy in preparation for what was about to come out of his nemesis' mouth.

And what ended up coming out was the last thing Danny Fenton expected to hear.

"I came over here, Daniel, to say congratulations on managing to save the world from disaster. You did an admirable job, and I'm sure you made your parents very proud of you."

Danny shook his head as if to clear the cobwebs. "Wait a minute… huh?"

_Okay, this is way weird. Is Vlad, like, overshadowed? Can that happen to someone like him?_

As if being able to read his train of thought, Vlad rolled his eyes.

"Though you may think of me as the devil incarnate, dear boy, I am coming to you as nothing of the sort. The compliment is genuine, so you may do with it as you wish… But that is not the main reason I came over here to speak with you…"

Cocking his head much like a confused animal, Danny assessed the man in front of him. As far as he could tell, Vlad was showing no other symptoms of overshadowing except for his attitude... So why was he acting so strange?

Arching an inquisitive eyebrow, Danny shrugged his shoulders self-consciously.

"I came to talk to you about… our rivalry."

"Our rivalry?" Danny was so confused. What was Vlad getting at here? It was making him nervous.

Sighing, the older half ghost ran a hand over his face. Danny waited for whatever Vlad was going to say, and looking momentarily at Sam and Tucker, he saw that they were equally, if not more, confused than he was. At least he wasn't the only one.

"Daniel, I realize that I did not leave you with a good impression of myself when we met at my college reunion. When I saw you in your ghost form in my home, you cannot imagine the excitement I felt at seeing the potential you harnessed; I liked what I saw in you even before I realized you were half ghost, Daniel, and my enthusiasm grew more so when you turned out to be none other than Jack Fenton's son…"

Danny shifted his weight from foot to foot, his discomfort evident. He didn't like the light that shone in his enemy's eyes as he talked about their first encounter, especially because the last emotions the boy felt at the time were excitement and enthusiasm.

"I cannot apologize about targeting your father, Daniel," the man said, crossing his arms defensively in front of his chest. "That is something that your father brought upon himself a long time ago…"

The teen made an indignant face at his enemy; he was about to open his mouth to argue with the fruit loop, but Vlad put his hand in the air, halting the boy's words.

"However… at seeing the level of success you've managed to reach, it has occurred to me that continuing to attack your father, as well as you, would not be in my best interest," Vlad finished. He then smirked, "So I will cease fire on your family from now on… but there's a catch."

Danny huffed moodily, crossing his own arms. Sam and Tucker, who were still nearby, gathered closer to their best friend.

When it came to Plasmius, there was always a catch, and Danny waited nervously to hear whatever horrible catch his enemy came up with.

"In exchange for my ceasefire on your family, I think it is more than fair to ask that you cease your hostility towards me. What I am asking, Daniel, is that the two of us work something out so that we are not at each other's throats; and before you become indignant, I am not asking for the two of us to become the best of friends. But what I will ask of you is that we share a mutual respect for the other, to perhaps have dinner once a week, or even do something as droll as powers training…"

Once again, the teen shook his head. The world seemed as if it were being dragged out from underneath him, and if it weren't for the fact that Danny had just saved the world and revealed his secret, he would have thought he was dreaming.

What Vlad was asking was so… out of the blue. Where only a couple of days ago, the two hybrids were at each other's throats, now his enemy was asking that they… well, be nice to each other.

It felt like some sort of joke, and Danny, still quiet after Vlad's proposal, stared into his enemy's eyes for any trace of a lie.

"I… Vlad, I don't know what to say," Danny finally responded, running a hand over the back of his neck, his usual nervous tick.

In response, the man sighed. "I am not asking that you make a decision now, Daniel. I will give you a few days to think about my offer; I only ask that you remember that what I am asking of you is in exchange for my leaving your family alone and ultimately, giving you a break."

Feeling totally overwhelmed, the only thing Danny could do was nod in Vlad's direction.

And Vlad seemed to take accept the answer as good enough, because he said with finality: "Well, give my love to your Mother and Jasmine, Daniel. I will be in touch."

Danny blinked several times as he watched his enemy turn around and begin walking across the barren terrain ahead of him. Vlad reached in his pocket and produced what looked like a phone, and a minute later, a helicopter emerged from behind the mountains and landed near the hybrid; Danny saw the man climb in, before the helicopter rose into the air, picking up snow off the ground, before it just as quickly flew off.

He subconsciously felt Sam wrap her arm supportively around his shoulder, as his mind whirred faster than ever before in trying to understand what had just happened.

His mind was still working on overdrive when his two parents and his sister finally reached them; not having witnessed the strange occurrence from their college friend, the two parents were still smiling excitedly, oblivious to what just happened.

"Kids," Maddie said, "what are you still doing out here? And was that Vlad you were just talking to?"

"Yeah, Mads! It sure looked like V-Man, but he didn't take a second to say hello. I wonder what's up…"

Danny tore his eyes off the now empty sky and looked at his parents seriously. "Yeah… I wonder too."

Maddie stepped forward and wrapped a protective arm around her son, rubbing his back. "Let's not worry about him right now. Today is all about you, and I want you to sit down and tell us everything, Danny."

Danny smiled at his mom, in reality all too happy to finally share his ghostly escapades. The six of them headed into the hotel one by one and walked over to a private lounge area to speak; but even as his parents were already bombarding him with questions, Danny still felt his mind drifting to Vlad's proposal and whether or not he should accept.

* * *

Ha… so Vlad is actually considering stopping his attack on the Fentons. I hope that you guys didn't think Vlad was too OC in this chapter. I tried to keep his train of thought and eventual solution realistic; as I put it, Vlad isn't forgiving Jack, but because he wants a relationship with Daniel, he is willing to give the half ghost what he wants in exchange for Danny's cooperation. Any thoughts on this?

Next up: Ordinary People. This kind of wait in between chapters won't happen again, and I'm certain that the next update will happen in one-two weeks. Thanks for your patience! –xoxo _wastedsky_


	3. Chapter 2: Ordinary People

Quicker post than last time! I do apologize (again) for how long it took me to post Chapter One, but I can honestly assure you that it was because of familial/holiday stuff!

Thank you for all the new favorites I received with my last chapter – I am glad that you are eager to see what happens! I don't think you will be disappointed with this chapter…

Thanks for the reviews by _pearl84 _and_ Lee Savage,_ and a ton of thanks for my new followers. Love you all!

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

**Ordinary People**

* * *

Rays of sunlight streamed through the part in the curtains the Monday morning after returning home from Antarctica. The sky was bright blue and with no clouds in sight, the weather spelled good fortune for those who were readying themselves for the day ahead.

However, there was one person who was not coaxed out from under his covers even as he held the perfect view of the sky.

Though it had always been difficult for Danny to get up for school, on the Monday morning after returning home from Antarctica, the boy found himself wide awake, as visions of the day he was about to have swam through his troubled mind.

Before fully getting up, Danny had opened his bleary eyes convinced that everything that happened was the result of a wild dream. And Danny would have believed that fact, seeing as this felt like a regular morning, if not for the sound of cameras going off that hinted there were paparazzi outside. Not exactly encouraging, especially when all the boy wanted was the companionship of his family and friends, and no one else…

Shifting under the covers and not able to fall back asleep, Danny sighed. And taking a deep breath, he tossed his covers to the side and stood up.

The teen stretched his back, arching his limbs over his head as he walked to the bathroom to take a shower. Opening the linen closet, Danny removed a clean towel before locking the door behind him and turning on the shower head. And stepping into the small space, Danny let the scalding water drum over his head, relishing the water pressure on his tired back.

It was minutes later that the teen turned off the shower; and shaking his head so as to remove some of the access water from his hair like a dog, Danny called forth intangibility. Becoming corporeal once more, the teen smirked to himself at how quickly he dried and stepped in front of the mirror to continue his morning routine.

Danny looked himself up and down. Though he knew things were changed, he couldn't help but expect an ordinary day.

But there was _nothing_ ordinary about his life – not anymore. Saving the planet was the final straw that broke the camel's back, as Danny Fenton was not going to be known as 'Freaky Fenton' or 'Fentina' any longer. People were going to see him as so much more; they were going to want something from him, and the teen frowned down at the sink in worry.

It was good that he was finally free of the burden brought on by keeping such a heavy secret. And by the way his parents questioned him, getting his side of the story, he knew that he would not be alone in his 'job'.

But the young hybrid wasn't worried about his parents. He was worried about the people at Casper High – in the world – thinking that Danny Phantom was all he was, and that because of this he was something to be sought after.

Danny rubbed at the nape of his neck, now done with washing his face and cleaning his teeth, as well as having slipped on a noncommittal pair of jeans. And turning off the light, the boy opened the door and walked barefooted back to his room.

He flopped on his bed, his body heat having been all but suctioned out of the warm mattress. The coolness of the sheets was pleasant though, and it also soothed some of the boy's nerves with the familiar sensation.

And so did the star stickers all over his ceiling… It felt like forever since he truly looked at them, and Danny pondered how long it had been since he was calm enough to look at his room. He had hung the stars up when he was in eighth grade back when his only wish was to go into outer space and experience the sensation of flight.

It was funny how his dream had come true… just not in the way he expected.

Danny smiled at a memory only he knew of before the teen nearly jumped out of his skin when he looked away from his ceiling and saw that there was someone standing in his doorway.

"Ah!" the teen yelled, rolling off his bed out of clumsiness. And judging by the laugh that emanated from the person at seeing his display, Danny immediately knew that it was his sister, Jazz.

"Quick question, little brother," Jazz giggled. "How is it that you demonstrate such agility when using your ghost powers, but are still the clumsiest teenager I know?"

Danny rubbed his hurt head and scowled playfully at his oldest sister. "Considering the fact that you snuck up on me, I would say that's pretty unfair…"

"I _snuck up_ on you? Danny, I've been standing at the door for five minutes! No wonder everybody calls you clueless."

Danny outwardly scowled towards his older sister, although on the inside he was amused by her words. Despite everything in his life changing, he could always count on his parents and his sister to remain the same.

So instead of continuing their pseudo arguing, the two teenagers lapsed into silence, simply staring at each other. And after a moment of Jazz standing with her arms crossed, the redhead dropped them and smiled softly.

"You ready for today?" she asked silently.

Danny's expression too changed to a serious one, and standing up from his place on the floor, the ghost child shrugged his shoulder passively.

Jazz bit her lip in thought. "You know, Danny, you may be Danny Phantom to everyone else, but you aren't anything but Danny _Fenton_ to us… Okay? Whatever happens today, whether people give you grief or fall all over you, don't forget that you're coming home to people who love you in both of your forms…"

A small smile appeared on Danny's lips at his sisters' words. Hearing those words built him up more than his sister could possibly guess; no matter who everyone else thought him to be, to his family he was just Danny, and that made him feel much better about the day ahead.

Danny wrapped his arms around his sister in a light hug. Jazz squeezed back when Danny uttered, "Thanks, Jazz."

Breaking away from each other, Jazz reached a hand up to muss the boy's hair up.

Danny made a sound of protest and attempted to press down the unruly chunks of hair that had floated away from his head as a result of his sisters' actions. Yet when running his fingers through his dark hair, he found that it his own movements were making things worse.

Jazz chuckled again. No matter her brother's attempts, his hair was never going to be anything but unkempt. And realizing this, Danny sighed in defeat. Indeed, some things would never change…

"Come on, Danny," his sister coaxed, "let's go downstairs…"

"In a sec, Jazz; I have to do something real quick."

Jazz nodded her head, already at the door. "Fine, but hurry. You wouldn't want to be late for your first day back, would you?"

Before Danny could quip back in typical little sibling fashion, his sister was already walking down the stairs towards the kitchen.

And seeing that his sister was no longer upstairs and able to see what he was doing, Danny closed his door so as to see himself in the mirror. The teen reached for a shirt on his nearby dresser, and noticing one of his favorite 'Humpty Dumpty' t-shirts that he owned, Danny slipped it over his head and surveyed himself. But it was not for the vain purpose of studying how he looked… In typical teenage boy fashion, Danny didn't care about how he looked, as long as he was clothed and not drawing too much attention to himself. No, what he was looking at in the mirror was deeper than the outside. He was studying his image to reassure himself that he was still the same kid that he was before the accident and before the Disasteroid.

Crippling blue eyes stared back at him, the same as they always were. Danny was still Danny, maybe not to his teachers and peers, but to the people who mattered. And that included himself.

"You're still the same kid you always were, Fenton… and that's never gonna change…" Danny whispered to his image.

As reassured as he could be, Danny bent down and hopped lamely as he pulled on his converse; and grabbing his backpack from the floor, the teen didn't miss what time it was.

"Sheesh, time really flies, huh?" Danny mumbled, groping at the back of his neck. "I better get downstairs before Jazz sends the Fenton Boo-merang after me…"

With one last look around his room, Danny willed his power of intangibility to take hold of him as he sank through the floor and directly into the kitchen below.

* * *

Passing through the ceiling effortlessly, Danny landed on the floor before coming back into existence. His father, who a second ago had been looking at the same empty spot where Danny appeared, jumped up from his chair at the sudden display of ghostliness.

"GHOST!" the man cried. He reached from under the table and with a loud cry, produced the Fenton Anti-Creep stick… also known as the baseball bat with his father's face on it.

The whole kitchen was frozen as it took his father a moment to realize exactly what ghost was in the kitchen… and when he did finally notice, his cheeks turned a deep shade of red.

"Oh, son," he breathed, "it's just you."

Danny rolled his eyes to himself, while sharing a quick covert glance with his sister. Even after a weekend had passed, his father was still unused to the outward display of ghostly ability that came from Danny, which made for a lot of moments similar to this one.

Only Danny was used to it… and instead of responding to Jack's surprise, the teen sighed before pulling out a chair at the kitchen table and sitting down.

"Sorry, Dad. I keep forgetting how new this all is for you. I'm used to just fazing through the ceiling invisibly and appearing at the bottom of the stairs…"

Maddie, who up until now had watched her husband and son's reactions with contained amusement, chuckled as she put a plate of pancakes in the center of the table. And noticing the cake-like breakfast food, Jack immediately lost any interest in the conversation around him and loaded a large stack onto his plate, already tearing into them faster than Danny could morph.

Maddie smiled lovingly between her husband and her son. "No need to apologize, honey. Your father and I just need some time to get used to your powers…" Maddie then broke into a grin. "Are you ready for school?"

_As ready as I'll ever be_, he thought with a scowl.

His Mom came to where he was sitting and patted him on the hand. "You'll be fine, Danny."

Danny smiled up at his mother, grateful for their support. He was lucky to have such an awesome sister and even more amazing parents. With their reassurance, the thought of going back to school was slowly growing less bothersome.

This made Danny relax some, which made Maddie beam proudly before sitting down to eat herself.

After everyone had their fill of food and drink, the two teenagers stood from their seats. They were early, but considering how many times they were late to school because Jazz had to pull over to make sure her brother didn't kill himself ghost fighting, they could use the additional time.

Jack and Maddie were about to say good-bye to their kids, as Jazz picked up her car keys from the coat hook in the foyer when, out of nowhere, the doorbell rang.

"Who could that be so early?" Jack asked Maddie, as her two children exchanged confused looks.

Danny internally wondered if he promised Sam and Tucker a ride to school, yet couldn't remember ever making such an offer. The trio only travelled to school together when they were knee-deep in solving a ghosts' evil plot, and so Danny, who was nearest to the door, approached it with interest.

His family, meanwhile, waited patiently for Danny to open the door in order to see who it was that was interrupting their morning routine.

Danny pulled the door open… and gasped. Standing at his front door was none other than Vlad Masters!

The teen's eyes flashed green in the presence of his enemy. Didn't the guy understand that no one around here wanted to see him? And why on earth was he appearing here on a Monday morning of all times, when the man very well knew Danny was due to go back to school? Something was up.

"Hello, Daniel… Jasmine…" Vlad greeted. "May I come in?"

Hearing the sound of his 'college buddy', Jack hopped from his chair and ran to the door; and not being disappointed, Jack practically shoved his son out of the way in order to reach down and give Vlad a hug.

"V-Man, it's good to see ya! What brings you here so early?" Jack boomed.

"If… you let me… _breathe… _I will tell you," Vlad grunted under the weight of Danny's father. And quickly running out of air, Vlad ripped himself away from his overly eager 'friend's' hold, straightening his hair and running a hand over his now creased suit.

Danny clapped a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing aloud at seeing his father nearly crush the fruit loop, while Jazz stood with her arms crossed.

Maddie approached the door next; however, she was noticeably less excited than her husband.

Vlad didn't seem to notice, as he bypassed Jack and kissed Danny's mom on both cheeks, ending their exchange in a hug that lasted – in Danny's opinion – for too long.

His mom must have thought so too, as she laughed uncomfortably and gently pushed Vlad off her. While she understood that her husband thought of the man as a friend, she was less than enthused whenever the billionaire made an appearance at her home. The passes that he made at her, though she didn't call attention to them, didn't go unnoticed.

"So why are you here?" both Maddie and Jack chorused in different tones.

"Well… as much as I love seeing the two of you, I honestly came to see our little hero," Vlad said, flashing an odd look at the teen.

Danny ran a hand through his hair, suddenly feeling put on the spot… but not for the reason his parents thought.

It had been a whole weekend since Vlad proposed that they put their differences aside, and in all honesty, the teen had put it out of his mind. The more he thought about it, the more he convinced himself that what happened was the result of too much energy exerted combined with too little sleep. Vlad told him that he would give Danny a couple days to think it over, but he didn't think that the man would choose to come and discuss this today, never mind that it was a school day.

And what bothered him further was that Vlad expected for the boy to have an answer after only two days passed. Shouldn't he be granted longer, considering their rivalry was of epic proportions? Just because the boy was being called a saint didn't mean he was one!

Staring at Vlad with his mouth agape, the only thing Danny could do was rub the back of his neck in response. Vlad simply arched an eyebrow, his eyes still holding an expression that the young hybrid wasn't able to discern.

"Not to worry, I simply wanted to ask Danny a few questions; you see, I'm being interviewed by the local paper and I was asked to give a statement about Danny Phantom," Vlad lied smoothly. "It will only take a moment, I can assure you."

Maddie bit her bottom lip. "Well… I don't…"

"THAT'S A GREAT IDEA, V-MAN!" Jack boomed, effectively cutting off his wife in the process. "You two can use the dining room… but make it quick, 'cause Danny and Jazz can't be late for school!"

Danny clenched his fists at his side, feeling unbelievably annoyed. Just who did this freak think he was barging into his house and demanding things from his parents? What was worse was that the man didn't ask Danny, but pretended like he wasn't even there.

_Does this dude really expect me to end our rivalry when he's acting like a fruit loop?_ Danny thought. The teen, who felt his enemy's eyes on him, purposefully ignored him.

"Come now, Daniel. We don't want you being late for school, do we? Be a good boy and follow me, hmm?"

Looking at his parents and their expecting eyes, Danny took an even breath and followed Vlad into the dining area. Vlad pulled out his seat and sat down, while Danny stood in the far corner.

Covertly looking over his shoulder and determining that neither Maddie nor Jack were in earshot, Vlad smirked in Danny's direction.

Danny dug his nails into his palm, but otherwise said nothing.

Vlad drawled, "You know, Daniel, you can sit down. How are we to make a deal if we cannot look each other in the eye?"

"Don't tell me what to do in my own house, Plasmius," Danny snarled back.

Vlad chuckled to himself; the man was in an oddly chipper mood and it really ticked the teen off. Couldn't this guy cut the act and get on with it already? Glancing at the clock, Danny saw that he had fifteen minutes before he had to be at the school.

"My, aren't we jumpy today? Never mind, I will make things quick, since the last thing I want to do is keep you from getting an education. Lord knows that you can't afford to lose any more brain cells."

"You know, if you really want me to consider this deal, you might want to act a little nicer, fruit loop."

For the first time since arriving, Vlad's expression clouded. "Look, Daniel. Believe it or not, I did not come here to play games. I gave you plenty of time to mull things over. I stop harassing you and your family in turn for us to cease our rivalry. I think I am being more than generous, dear boy, so why don't you make a decision?"

Danny felt like his brain was about to explode. What did the man mean by plenty of time? And why was he making things out to be so simple, when Vlad had to know how hard this decision was?

The teen forgot that he was trying to be rebellious in not sitting down and lowered himself into one of the empty chairs, deep in thought. Vlad said so himself that he could not apologize for the attack on his father, and that was what it all came down to! That was what started their rivalry in the first place: Daniel refused to renounce his father and Vlad being the crazed jerk he was took that as a challenge. What made Danny feel sick was how easily Vlad could pretend that that meant nothing…

Vlad cleared his throat expectantly. "Yes or no, Daniel?"

But Danny shook his head. "I still don't get it. Why now, Plasmius? You said it wouldn't be in your best interest, but… shouldn't there be something more to this? Shouldn't it be about more _than you_?"

"Forget it, Vlad," Danny growled. "I'm so _tired_ of this… I'm tired of playing your twisted games!"

"Daniel, has it ever occurred to you that I might be tired too?"

The comment stopped the teen in his tracks. Somehow it made all his pent up rage evaporate, leaving Danny to feel drained. And judging by the sober look in his enemy's eyes, he could tell that Vlad was feeling the same way.

"Why now, Vlad?" Danny asked. "I… don't get it."

Vlad sighed and leaned back against the chair. "Fate has been cruel to me, Daniel. You were born into a family that loves you unconditionally, but up until now were never able to understand the person you are… or became, rather. However, when I first met you, I knew right away that you were special. The power you exerted, even after only having your powers for a short while, made me feel that I was not alone. That was why I was desperate to strike a bargain with you, boy. I knew that if I could convince you that I was better off for you and your needs than, say, your father, that our joint forces could take down whatever problems stood in our way…"

Danny felt itchy at hearing such passionate words coming out of Vlad's mouth about him, but either Vlad ignored his discomfort or didn't notice.

It appeared the man was lost in his own world, for his eyes were staring far away.

"I thought the deal I made with you was fair, but you, of course, didn't like it very much. Asking for you to renounce your father was what ruined it, I suppose. But even after you denied me and we fought, I was still… enamored by your power, Daniel… And from there forward, I vowed that if I could take everything away from you and leave you with no other options, that you would finally be mine. However, when you revealed yourself to the public, little badger, you ruined everything…"

"Yeah, okay," Danny scoffed, taking on a defensive attitude.

But Vlad simply raised his hand to silence the young half ghost. "You remember the very first deal we made, right Daniel? We agreed that if I exposed you to your parents, that you would have no problems exposing me…"

"I still don't get it," the teen replied. "What does that have to do with you wanting to stop fighting, or whatever?"

"Think hard, Daniel. Now that your parents know everything, they are less inclined to believe that the 'Wisconsin Ghost' is mindlessly attacking you, and so that eliminates any chances I have of attaining what I want."

Danny furrowed his brow, deep in thought, and yet he still wasn't sure where this was going. So his parents knew everything? How did that stop the jerk from coming after him?

And then it clicked and Danny raised his eyes to meet the billionaire's.

"You're out of options…" Danny surmised.

Vlad grinned at him. "I knew you weren't daft, Daniel."

Danny found his gaze wandering to the clock, but he was too lost in his thoughts to understand how long they had been talking. His mind was whirring a million miles an hour, trying to wrap his head around how he managed to trump his enemy and not realize it.

"This… is a business deal."

"More or less," Vlad replied. "I'm not too thrilled to be disadvantaged, and believe me I do not want to continue to let your father breathe, but I like to think I'm an intelligent man, Daniel. The losses would be great if I kept up my hostilities with your parents figuring out half of the puzzle. The logical thing to do on my part is to… surrender. That is why I am asking that we cease hostilities towards each other, Daniel, but I will not leave empty handed, naturally. After all, when have I ever? So a truce is what I propose."

The room fell into silence once more, as Vlad continued to stare at Danny in the hopes of receiving an answer. Yet Danny's head was still spinning wildly. The man wanted a truce so that he wasn't exposed for the supreme jerk he was. And while Danny would have normally denied it right away, he couldn't ignore the fact that Vlad was willing to leave his family alone. Of course the man had a price, but even Danny had to admit that the man was being fair. So what should he do?

The bigger question was: could he look past all Vlad had done to him and his family and form a relationship with the guy? Danny didn't know how he was going to be able to spend time with the hybrid when so much negativity hung over their heads.

Daniel ran a hand through his dark hair, blowing out a breath of air he didn't know he was holding. What he needed was more time…

Squaring his shoulders, Danny sat up straight. "I've listened to you, so I only think it's fair that you listen to me. You have to understand that what you're offering isn't something I can act upon on a whim. What you're proposing is something serious… and I need to have some time to myself to really think things over…"

"How much more time?" Vlad asked.

"I… uh, think it's fair if you give me the day to think this through. Hmm… as much as I don't want you in my house for a second time today, I'm willing to ask my parents to have you over for dinner."

"And you'll have a decision then?"

Danny took a deep breath. "Yeah… I will."

Vlad nodded before standing up from his chair and straightening out his suit. They may be done with the awkward conversation, but Danny still had to think about it. He only hoped he could make a decision.

Danny stood up from the chair himself and was about to walk around the billionaire when he heard Vlad chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

"If I were you, I wouldn't be walking, Daniel. If I'm correct, Casper High classes commence at eight… it's ten of, little badger…"

"OH MY GOSH!"

Danny ran into the kitchen to retrieve his backpack, not pausing long enough to notice that his arch-nemesis was still in his home, before yanking open the door.

Seeing that his sister's car had long since left, the teen cursed under his breath, before squaring his shoulders and making his decision.

He was going to have to fly if he wanted to make it.

Danny forced the two white rings to engulf his entire body, changing into Phantom, and blasted off in the direction of his school.

Meanwhile, still standing in the hallway, Vlad watched him leave with mirth in his eyes before he too decided to leave. Disappearing into thin air, the older hybrid left nothing behind except for a fine pink mist.

* * *

Thankfully, Danny managed to get to his class right as Mr. Lancer was about to shut the door.

The teen had fazed through the brick walls of the school and booked it to his locker, choosing not to pause to notice the enamored stares of his fellow peers.

However, once the teen sat down and righted himself, Danny was finally able to notice all the awed looks he was receiving and turned a bright red. This was exactly what he hadn't been looking forward to, and yet by being late and being the last one to enter the room, it gave his other classmates time to notice him.

Danny faced forward, focused on tuning everyone's whispers out.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Lancer started his lesson.

And for the first time in a long time, Danny paid attention. For once, the boy wasn't half asleep at his desk, or escaping to the bathroom to fight a ghost. Danny took down notes and even understood the lesson on sonnets.

After forty minutes, the bell rang for next period, and Danny purposefully fell behind so as to avoid extra attention.

Sam and Tuck waited with him, and once the last curious student filed out of the room, the trio started heading to their next period.

However, Mr. Lancer had other plans. "Danny, may I talk to you for a moment?"

A pang of nervousness shot through the teen; looking behind him, he saw that Sam and Tucker were mirroring his expression, the two of them still waiting. But Danny, at not seeing anything negative in his teacher's expression, nodded to both his friends, silently confirming that everything was okay.

"Take a seat, Mr. Fenton," Lancer urged.

Danny took the seat closest to his teacher's desk and waited, albeit slightly worried.

Lancer must have noticed how nervous his student was, for he grinned at the teenager. "No need to be worried, Mr. Fenton. I just wanted to have a simple chat with you. Oh… and do not worry, I will provide a pass for your next period should you require it…"

"What's up, sir?"

Lancer's grin grew. "Although I have already bid you congratulations, I feel it is necessary to do it a second time. What you did last week was nothing short of spectacular…"

"Thank you," Danny answered automatically.

"I suppose I should get down to business, Mr. Fenton, as I do understand that you are a busy man. I wanted to let you know that the Board of Educators and I sat down and had a discussion about you."

Danny furrowed his brow but said nothing. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or something to worry about; yet judging by his teacher's continued nonchalance, the teen lost some of his tension.

"Mr. Fenton… Danny, the Board and I have talked about your situation tirelessly and have unanimously agreed that a boy like you with such a busy life should be accommodated…"

Taking a sheet of paper off his desk, Lancer placed it down before the seated teen. Danny noticed that it was a document of sorts. At the top of the paper was a long-winded explanation of Danny's circumstance, along with a copy of his grade point average and current grades, which did look low.

At the bottom there were two lines that gave room for someone to sign. Danny noticed that the topmost line was for an 'administrator' and that the one closest to the bottom had his name printed before offering another line for a signature as well.

Danny arched a questioning eyebrow at his teacher. "What is this?"

"It's a contract. This contract states that if you are faced with a ghost the night before school and are unable to do your assigned work, that you are given an additional twenty-four hours to complete the assignment, pending that you give any of your teachers, including myself, a note signed by your parents.

"As well as this, any time you need to leave to fight a ghost, Mr. Fenton, your teachers are tasked with filling you in on what you missed, as well as not holding you accountable if you should come late or somehow skip the class…" Lancer explained. He then chuckled, "Though I am not too familiar with how ghost fights go, I have seen the destruction these… beings cause. Rest assured, Danny, that we understand and furthermore appreciate the work that you do… It's only fair to compensate you."

Danny didn't know what to say to his balding teacher. He felt an overwhelming wave of relief wash over him, as for the first time since gaining his ghost powers, Danny found that he wouldn't have to come up with lame excuses as to why he couldn't do the homework or was leaving after only just arriving to class.

_Man, _he thought to himself, _I should have revealed my identity a long time ago…_

"Sir, I… thank you so much…"

"No, Danny. Thank you," Lancer responded, beaming down at the young hero. "Please sign where your name is listed and I will take care of the rest; this is just to make sure you understand what you're being offered."

Scanning over the document one more time, Danny took the proffered pen and signed.

Mr. Lancer took the paper and placed it into a manila envelope. He then reached across his desk and picked up a pad; using the pen he took back from Danny, Lancer wrote a hasty excuse for why the teen was late for his next class. Danny watched as Lancer signed the page before ripping the paper from the pad and handing it over.

"This excuse should be enough, but if Mr. Faluca should need something more for whatever reason, you can tell him to call my office."

"Thank you, Mr. Lancer. Can I go now?"

Mr. Lancer chuckled. "Have a good day, Mr. Fenton."

Danny hopped up from his desk and left the room with his excuse, unaware of how big the smile on his face was.

(Line break)

The rest of the day went along without a hitch. Every teacher Danny encountered was pleasant towards him and made sure that the class didn't bother him too much.

Sam, who had Mr. Faluca the same period as he did, was filled in on why Danny had arrived late. The Goth agreed that it was great that the school was giving him some leeway.

During lunch, it was a bit chaotic, but Sam and Tucker managed to help him convey that all Danny wanted was to eat his lunch with his best friends _in peace_. And although Danny felt bad at the crestfallen looks of his peers, the teen was relieved that he wouldn't be pulled in eighty different directions at once.

Afterward, Danny finished up his last two classes and headed over to the Nasty Burger with his two friends.

Valerie was working behind the counter, and Danny and she both visibly tensed at coming into contact with one another. Since revealing that he was Danny Phantom, the ghost huntress had refused to speak with him. Danny didn't blame her, on account he had lied to her, but Sam wasn't having any of it. She reiterated that if Valerie wanted to hold onto a grudge, that it was her problem. And while Danny didn't necessarily agree, he let it go. It was better to have Valerie come to him, rather than forcing her into talking about a subject that was still pretty fresh.

While they ate, Danny filled his friends in on what happened that morning and the deal Vlad wanted to make with Danny.

Tucker nearly fell out of the booth when Danny explained that Vlad wanted to make a truce. Sam was skeptical about the exchange, but seeing that her boyfriend was torn about it, held her tongue.

Both friends gave Danny advice before the trio separated, Tucker walking home on his own while Danny and Sam walked towards her house.

Once depositing her on her front step and kissing her goodbye (he would never get used to how great that felt), Danny changed into Phantom and flew invisibly through the air, relishing the feeling of the wind pushing his hair off his face.

With the exception of his pending decision with Vlad and the awkwardness that ensued with Valerie, things hadn't gone the way Danny thought they would.

His parents and sister had been right: everything turned out okay.

And speaking of his parents and sister, the teen arched through the air towards Fenton Works, wanting to fill them in on the day he had, as well as what Mr. Lancer and the Board of Educators decided on his behalf.

Danny fazed through the front door, feeling too lazy to change into human so he could dig out his house keys.

The teen changed back to his human half before dropping his backpack at the bottom of the stairs like always and walking into the kitchen.

"Hi baby," his mother greeted. However, she did not look up from the onion she was carefully chopping on the cutting board.

"Hey Mom," he responded, walking up to her and laying a hand on her back. "What are you cooking?"

Maddie smiled. "Chili," she said. "We're having Vlad over for dinner tonight, so I thought I'd make something easy."

At this, Danny blanched. He had forgotten that he invited Vlad for dinner so that they could discuss Danny's decision…

Maddie did not take notice of her son's discomfort, as she stirred the ground beef sautéing in the pan; and not wanting to let her know how thrown off the boy was, Danny turned around and ran upstairs to his room, forgetting that he wanted to share how successfully his day went.

* * *

Long chapter! It's a lot of information to digest, but the next chapter will be awesome, and it involves Danny making his decision!

As always, I would love to hear what you have to say, so click above and type what you thought of Vlad and Danny's little chat!

Bye for now! – _wastedsky_


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